Supercomputing is a field that attempts to take the best of presently available technology and with it build a device that will enable the processing of logic on a scale not previously available. The most well-known names connected to supercomputing include ENIAC, Cray, Thinking Machines, IBM Deep Blue, and the Earth Simulator built by NEC in Yokohama. Each of these represent a step forward in top-end supercomputing.
Like other supercomputers, the present invention is useful for solving mathematical problems that would be too cumbersome for less-powerful computers. These problems may come from science, economics, pure math, or a multitude of other sources. The ENIAC was used to calculate trajectories. The Earth Simulator will hopefully be able to predict hurricanes. The present invention is a multipurpose computer—it would be very useful, for example, in enacting calculations of protein folding, market modeling, artificial intelligence, fluid dynamics, and any other parallelizable mathematical problem.
Most researchers in this field work using the principle of parallel processing: multiple processors each working on a separate part of a problem. The present invention also works on this principle. It is different from prior art because of the design of the enclosure. Its design enables the supercomputer to be uniquely compact, quiet, and fast.
All high-end semiconductor-based computers have one or more major heat-generating components. Conventional computers are air cooled using finned heatsinks and fans. Many high-end computers are liquid cooled—typically by a circulation of water which comes in thermal contact with the main heat-generating components, without actually coming in contact with them. Because of water's conductive and corrosive qualities, it must be kept totally contained and must never touch any electronic components directly. The most extreme water cooling of computers usually includes a separate block each for cooling the CPU, the RAM, the on-board chipset, and sometimes the video card. While not the hottest spots on the board, the other components still create some heat, which is usually dissipated through convection to circulating air, whether by natural ventilation or by a fan.
Some supercomputers, like the Cray-2, were cooled by the forced convection of a non-conductive liquid that was in direct contact with the electronic components. In the case of the Cray-2, a fluorocarbon known as FC-77, or perfluoro-octane, was used. It was passed through a heat exchanger where it was cooled by a continuous source of chilled water. Like in the Cray-2, the present invention transfers its heat to a liquid coolant which comes in direct contact with the heat-generating components. The invention can use FC-77, or another substance called perfluoro-hexane, or any other liquid that is non-conductive and non-corrosive. The ideal liquid coolant would have a high thermal transmittivity, be chemically stable below 150C, and neither react with nor dissolve plastics, metals, nor adhesives.
Unlike the Cray, the present invention does not require a constant supply of chilled water. Heat is both convexed and radiated to the environment by methods described below. The expression of heat to the environment is augmented with the help of solid-state thermoelectric coolers.
The present invention relies on the Peltier effect to boost the efficiency of its heat transference system. The Peltier effect was discovered by Jean Charles Athanase Peltier in 1834. He described how a temperature differential can be created by an electric current flowing through certain combination of materials. These combinations became known as thermoelectric coolers, or heat pumps. The amount of heat that is moved through a Peltier-effect device is proportional to the current. It is the inverse of the phenomenon discovered by Thomas Johann Seebeck in 1821. The usage of Peltier-effect devices to cool electronic components wasn't prevalent until the 1950's once a better understanding of these materials was available. The present invention is different from prior art because of its combination of the usage of a thermoelectric cooler with direct liquid convection cooling of computer components and the vertical cooling passages, which will be called “heatsink chimneys” from here on. More specifically, each heatsink chimney has two parts: the “coolant chimney” and the “air chimney”. These will be described later. This invention enables two very desirable qualities: quiet and speed. The invention is quieter than air-cooled computers because of their heavy reliance on fans. The invention can use fans in certain embodiments, but it does not require as much assistance from fans. The invention is faster than air-cooled supercomputers because liquid-cooling opens up the possibility of overclocking (a procedure where the CPU is reprogrammed to run faster than the factory defaults). Overclocking in an air-cooled computer usually results in a burnt-out CPU.